UNISON calls on newly elected council leaders for support in improving the pay offer for local government workers

17th June 2022

Scotland's largest public service union today (Friday) called on newly elected council leaders attending their first COSLA, the umbrella-body representing Scottish councils, meeting of the new term, for support in improving the pay offer to local government workers.

UNISON members gathered outside the meeting of the COSLA Convention in Edinburgh to call on the newly-elected COSLA officers to ensure that pay is at the top of their agenda.

UNISON, the union for local government workers, is currently balloting its members for strike action in a dispute over pay and have called on COSLA and the Scottish Government to get round the table to resolve the issue. The union has warned that strikes will see school closures and waste piling up on the streets.

Johanna Baxter, UNISON Scotland's head of local government, said: "UNISON urges Scotland's council leaders to join their workforce in a call to the Scottish Government to properly fund councils and allow meaningful talks on pay to progress.

"We cannot forget who got us through the pandemic - it was local government workers who were educating our children, cleaning our streets, caring for our most vulnerable and burying our dead throughout the pandemic. Local government workers keep society running and they all deserve a fair pay rise."

Chair of UNISON Scotland’s local government committee, Mark Ferguson, said: "Inflation is running at a 40-year high and is currently in double digits and rising. So a 2 per cent pay offer is a massive real-terms pay cut that our local government workers cannot afford.

More than half of the local government workforce earn below £25,000 and it’s time the Scottish Government significantly increased its funding for local government to allow these dedicated workers to get the fair pay rise they deserve."